The Curse of Deyanira
by whyyouackinsocraycray
Summary: Sequel to Return of a Racer. After years of struggle and hardship, the dust has finally settled in Litwak's Arcade. But, a past threat is lurking in the shadows, and is prepared to do anything to exact her revenge.
1. Prologue

**_Author's Note: Hey, look! I finally wrote the sequel to Return of a Racer! It sure took long enough, huh? I have had little to no time to write in the past few months, but now, here I am. Hopefully, you guys all think it's worth the wait… _**

**_Before I begin, let me refresh you on what happened last: Teddy and Jack have finally become close again, Felicity has been saved, Turbo is gone for good, and the evil witch Deyanira has been vanquished. (Though, going based on the title, you probably have realized that she wasn't_**** truly****_ defeated.) I don't really have much more to say other than that I'm sorry this took so long, and I hope you enjoy! _****J**

It had been a particularly slow day at Litwak's Arcade, due to a major blizzard that had swept the area the night before. Stanley Litwak, having not much else to do, opened up shop despite the three feet of snow on the ground. The two kids that lived across the street were the only customers all day, though it didn't really bother the owner. It was nice to see them so ecstatic to have all of the games to themselves. Not that they didn't still argue with each other.

"I want to play as Vanellope!"

"That's not fair! You **always** get to be her!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Alright, kids." Mr. Litwak had interrupted. "Why don't you just take turns?"

"Because Vanellope is the best racer, and my stupid brother here keeps hogging her! It's my turn to be her, and he knows it!" The girl complained.

"Okay, you know what?" The arcade's namesake said, pulling a quarter from his pocket. He had only kept a few extras today. "I'll flip a coin to see who gets to be Vanellope first, okay?"

"Alright." The boy moped.

"Heads!"

"I was gonna call heads."

"Alright, tails." The girl sighed. Litwak flipped the quarter into the air, caught it in one hand, and slammed it onto the back of the other.

"Tails." He announced.

"Yes! Ha! I get to be Vanellope!"

"Fine. I'll just be Swizzle." The boy sighed, selecting his second favorite racer. Mr. Litwak walked back to the prize booth with a chuckle.

_Ever since Vanellope came in, no one can ever agree on who gets to play her._ He thought._ Maybe there wouldn't be so many arguments if there was another character as good as she is. I suppose King Candy was, but he hasn't shown up on the roster in months. I wonder why? _He quickly shook off his doubts, and returned to his work. After about an hour, he heard footsteps heading towards the door.

"Later, Mr. Litwak!" The brother and sister called in unison. He sighed, knowing that the arcade would be empty for the rest of the day if they left now. Then, he remembered something: the back room!

"Wait a minute, kids!" He called after them. "I've been working on a new addition to the arcade. Do you want to check it out?"

"Sure!" The siblings exclaimed, running towards the man that had become more like a cool uncle to them than an authority figure. He led them to a closed door, and quickly unlocked it, opening it up for the first time to the public.

"The computer room." He announced. The kids gawked at the sight before them. At least fifty computers, all equipped with different software and add-ons, and a huge mural of various video game characters on the surrounding walls. "I figured that so many games are played online nowadays, I may as well add all of those in, too."

"Wow!" The girl exclaimed, adjusting her glasses.

"Can we play?"

"Of course you can!" Mr. Litwak replied. The two children examined the computers, which all had labels of which games were equipped in them. They both recognized most of them, but one specific one caught their eye. The logo was dark and mysterious, with a full moon in the corner. The title, written in big, bold letters, seemed to jump out at them. Prophecy of Ilargia.

"Hey, Litwak." The boy called out. "What game is this? I don't recognize it."

"Ah, well I wouldn't expect you to. It's brand new. In fact, this is still the beta version. It hasn't even been released to the public."

"How did you get it, then?"

"Well, it happens to be a sequel to a classic arcade game that I used to have plugged in called Saviors of Ilargia. The old cabinets didn't do very well, but they developed a small, loyal following, and those people demanded that it was given a sequel. I've heard that it is much more enjoyable than the original, so when they offered to give me this version, I decided to try it out."

"Cool!" The boy said, turning one of the computers on. "I want to try this!" The opening screen came on, accompanied by eerie music, a clap of thunder, and a wolf howling at the full moon. A layer of fog rose up to fill the screen, and a disembodied voice echoed through:

"_When darkness falls at the hands of light,_

_A spirit grows strong in the blackness of night_

_At first, all seems well, but there is danger to all._

_For this darkness is growing, and light, too, will fall._

_All of this will leave comrades unsafe and unsure,_

_For such evil grows richest in the soul most pure."_


	2. Chapter 1

It was a typically beautiful day in Sugar Rush. The lemon drop sun was shining brightly in the sky, and the sweet smell of chocolate, pastries, and candy filled the air. A light wind blew over the land, and the sound of children's laughter echoed all around. The giant, pink castle was practically empty, save for the staff, and three gameless avatars, one of whom was leaning peacefully on the pretzel railing of the balcony outside his bedroom. He smiled, taking in the sunlight and watching the candy-coated racers drive their ways through the various tracks of the increasingly popular game. He brushed a strand of blond hair out of his face with a happy sigh.

"Watching the race?" He heard from behind him. Turning around, he beamed at the sight of his fiancée walking up from behind him.

"Yeah. You want to join me?" He asked.

"Sure." She said with a smile. "Who's winning?"

"Vanellope. Big shocker there, huh?" He said sarcastically. She laughed and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Just listen to them down there. They sound like they're having so much fun."

"Yeah. They sort of remind me of us when we were younger." He smiled and turned his head to look her square in the eye. Not all that long ago, he had thought that he would never see her again. Now, everything was absolutely perfect.

"Do you ever miss it? You know…racing?" She asked.

"Oddly enough, no. I mean, if I had the chance, I would** love** to get out on the track again, but for right now, I've found something way more important." He planted a kiss on her cheek, and her blue eyes shone. "What about you?"

"I lost all interest in racing after the whole Turbo debacle." She said quietly, looking over at him.

"It didn't exactly do much for me, either…" He said, tensing up and looking away with his eyes closed; horrible memories flashing through his mind. His grip on the banister tightened, and he clenched his jaw.

"Ted?" She asked concernedly. "Are…are you okay?"

"Yeah…I'm…I'm fine." He said quietly, turning away from her.

"Look, I…I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have brought him up."

"No, I just need to get over it." Teddy sighed. "It's been almost a year now. I shouldn't get so worked up over Turbo anymore. I mean, look at everything I have; how great my life is. Getting upset over the past is a waste of time."

"You can't just forget about it. Nobody could. But we can help you through it." She turned his head back towards her and looked him square in the eye. "**_I _**can help you through it."

"It's not that simple, Felicity."

"You've been talking about it like it is."

"Well, I'm trying to convince myself. I'm not doing a great job, but…" Felicity put her arms around him and pulled him into a hug.

"Everything's going to be okay. I promise."

"It already **is **okay."

"Then why do you keep acting like it's not?"

"I don't know… Maybe…maybe it's because I got so used to things going wrong that it's taking me a while to get used to everything being so..."

"So what?"

"So perfect." Teddy replied quietly. "I've got everything I could possibly ask for. My friends, my family…you…and I'm just so terrified that it'll all be taken away."

"Hey. Listen to me." Felicity said, putting her hand on the side of his face. "That's not going to happen, okay? I'm never going to leave you alone again. I'll always be right here."

"Promise?"

"Of course I do. I love you so much."

"I love you, too." He squeezed her hand with a smile, then turned his head as a familiar voice spoke from outside the game.

_"Alright, kids. It's that time of day again." _

_"Aww, come on, Mr. Litwak! Five more minutes! Please!"_

_"I'm sorry, kids, but it's getting late. I have to lock up. But, you can come back first thing tomorrow, okay?" _

_"Alright." The kids said glumly. "See you tomorrow."_

"The kids sure do love this arcade." Teddy said with a smile. "Was it this popular when we were young?"

"Not usually. Litwak's done a lot of renovating in the last few years."

"Plus, this is one of the only arcades left around here."

"Yeah…" She replied quietly. "We're lucky, for sure."

"You can say that again." Suddenly, they were interrupted by the sound of little footsteps running towards them.

"There you guys are! I was wondering where you were!"

"We're here all the time, Vanellope." Teddy replied.

"Well yeah, but you might **not **have been here."

"Where else would we be?"

"I don't know, somewhere. This is a big castle, you know."

"Yes, we know." Felicity chuckled.

"Anyway, I'm meeting Stinkbrain and Hammertime over at Tapper's. You wanna come?"

"Sure. I could go for a root beer." Teddy said. "You in, Felicity?"

"Absolutely."

"So come on! Time's a-wasting!" Vanellope yelled, running towards the door.

"Hey, wait up kiddo!" Teddy laughed and ran after her with Felicity right behind him. He slowed down for a moment, and knocked on a door. "Jack, wake up! We're going to Tapper's."

"Five more minutes." The former racer whined from behind the door with a yawn.

"Fine. Just meet us there, okay? That, or you could be alone in a castle with Sour Bill for a few hours."

"Fine, I'm coming!" He yelled, scrambling out of bed.

"That's what I thought." Teddy laughed. Sour Bill meant well, but he bored Jack to no end. "I'll see you there!"

When they reached Game Central Station, it was abuzz with characters, even more so than usual, and they all seemed to be gossiping about something, but Teddy couldn't quite make out what. Something involving computers. Whatever it was, it must have been exciting.

"What are they all talking about?" He asked Felicity.

"No idea, but we'll probably find out sooner or later. It can't be anything too major, right?"

"Yeah, or at least nothing bad. Litwak seemed to be in a great mood today."

"I'm sure it's nothing."

"And you're probably right."


End file.
